A 90-minute block for thesis writing, with distant thunder, after a long day

1 Before you start

• Make sure your chair is at a height where your feet are flat on the floor.
• Decide in advance that a bad sentence is still progress.
• Decide now what you will do when the timer ends. Otherwise the decision will eat the first five minutes.
• Give yourself permission to stop when the timer ends, even mid-sentence.
• Have a piece of paper beside you for the thoughts that will try to interrupt.

2 While the timer runs

• If you are bored, the boredom is usually the last thing before something clicks.
• If nothing is working, write badly on purpose for two minutes.
• If the task suddenly feels impossible, make it smaller rather than stopping. One paragraph. One function. One row.
• Notice whether you are working or performing work. They look similar from the outside.

3 When it ends

• Leave the desk tidier than you found it. Two minutes now saves ten later.
• Note what you actually got done, not what you meant to get done.
• Write one line about where to start next time. Future you will be grateful.

4What to put on

distant thunder — Low rumbles with long gaps. Suits people who find sudden noises more distracting than constant ones.